Jessica Davis, MD, transplant hepatologist and director of liver transplant at the DC VA Medical Center with academic appointments at Georgetown University, shares insights on the importance of building trust and open communication in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease care.
Transcript
I think finding a physician that you trust and are comfortable with is just critical. It’s almost impossible to work well with somebody who’s supposed to be looking out for you and taking care of you if you don’t have confidence in their judgment.
If you’re really not getting along with your doctor — if you don’t feel like they’re answering your questions — I would advise you to seek out and see if there’s somebody else you could get care from who is truly listening to you.
The other thing is that some of these issues are sensitive. Talking about things like carrying extra weight is something you want to be able to do with someone who feels nonjudgmental, who’s really focused on your health — not your appearance — and who doesn’t make it sound like you just have an issue with willpower.
There’s a lot more that goes into some of these metabolic diseases than we’ve been culturally and historically taught.
So you want somebody who takes a modern approach, who’s willing to use medications to support you, who acknowledges the realities of your life and your constraints — someone who wants to help you achieve the best health outcomes you can.
